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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

TBR welcomes Sherri Fulmer Moorer

TBR: Welcome to TBR, Sherri. Will you share a little bit about yourself?Sherri: By day, I’m a program assistant working in professional licensing. By night, I’m an independent author. I started out as a Christian writer and drifted to writing mysteries when real life started to inspire me in way that were too strange for truth.

TBR: Tell us about Anywhere But Here and where it's available.Sherri: Anywhere But Here is about a young woman named Jana Lanning that finds her life plans derailed a week after graduation when her boyfriend breaks up with her, her best friend gets married and moves out of town, and she’s forced to settle for a job she’s clearly overqualified for. As she struggles to settle for a life that is much less than she expected, she receives a mysterious music box from a friend. At first it’s melody gives her comfort, but soon she finds herself having strange visions of an alternate reality where she’s the queen of a perfect world that’s threatened by people and events eerily similar to her real life experiences. She finds herself torn between these worlds and must choose which reality she prefers –and what price she’ll keep to live in it.

TBR: Please tantalize us with a story blurb or excerpt.Sherri: Meet Jana Lanning: A recent college graduate who can't seem to get a grip on life. All of her plans for the future have fallen apart within two weeks of graduation. The only comfort she finds is in a mysterious music box sent to her by a friend. At first she looks to it for comforting memories of her past, but soon she's having strange dreams of a life where she's the queen of a world where everything she desires comes to pass. It seems ideal until elements of reality and her dream world start to merge, leaving her ill and confused. When she's confronted by attacks in both worlds, she must face her demons and choose which reality she prefers; and what price she'll pay to keep it.

TBR: What inspired you to write about the theme? Sherri: I’ve known so many people that struggle with depression and one thing they all complain about is feeling like they’re alone in their battles. Depression really is a demon that cuts people off from the world and leaves them isolated. There are many non-fiction and reference books on the topic of depression, but I noticed it’s a topic that isn’t covered in fiction much at all. When I got the idea for Anywhere But Here, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to bring this topic into a new forum. I hope that, by sharing Jana Lanning’s story, people will relate to her struggles and see that depression is a battle that can be won, if they can find strength within themselves to fight the battle.

TBR: Are you a plotter or pantser?Sherri: I’m a plotter. I have to know at least where the story is starting and ending before I can even start writing.

TBR: Did any music inspire your book? Do you have a playlist?Sherri: I listen to a wide variety of music, so it really depends on the mood I’m in. However, I usually find that rock inspires me when I write. I believe it’s the combination of the energy of the music and the fact that rock musicians have a special knack of tapping into human struggling and pain in a unique way that speaks to us all. My top 3 bands that inspire my writing are Cold, Lacuna Coil, and Korn.

TBR: While creating your books, what was one of the most surprising things you learned?Sherri: I never stick to an outline, because the characters always seems to take over the story and lead it their own way. This really puzzled me when I started out because I believed a writer had to have the entire plot planned in order to write a book. Not so, at least for me. My outlines usually meet the “delete” key before I get to the middle of the manuscript. I finally learned that, while I need to know the beginning and ending to write the book, I best off leaving the middle open so the characters can take me through the story the way they choose.

TBR: Tease us with one little thing about your fictional world that makes it different from others.Sherri: It’s more akin to urban fantasy. Although my fictional worlds are always based on reality, it seems that elements of the strange, weird, or supernatural always seem to seep into my world!

TBR: What's next for you?Sherri: I’m working on a science-fiction apocalyptic thriller that’s tentatively titled Splinter. It takes place over a thousand years in the future and is about how humanity’s final 1,000 survivors cope with the end of the world, especially when they discover that the end might have been brought about by their own hand.

TBR: Any other published works?Sherri: I published a Christian self-help book titled Battleground Earth – Living by Faith in a Pagan World through PublishAmerica in 2004. After that book, I switched to writing fiction and published Blurry, a young adult mystery novel, through Wings ePress in August 2011. I self published a mystery novelette titled Quarantine through Smashwords in September 2011.

TBR: What’s the most challenging aspect of writing? Most rewarding?Sherri: For me, the most challenging aspect of writing is finding time to do it. I love to write, but with a home and full time job it’s tough to carve time out of my schedule to write. Even with the support of my husband and family, it seems the “to do” list is endless and seriously jeopardizes my writing efforts! I’ve had to make some tough decisions to make time for my writing. I don’t watch much TV, for example, and I really don’t have any other hobbies besides reading (which is pretty much mandatory if you’re a writer). But I believe it’s worth it. As I said, I love to write and I want to share my stories with people that can enjoy and relate to them. It’s so rewarding to hear from a reader that says “I loved it!” I know the strong positive effect a good book has on me, and I hope my writing is speaking to others in the same way.

TBR: Is there anything you’d like to ask our readers?Sherri: I’d like to ask you to give ebooks and independent authors a chance. There’s so much talent out there that’s passed up by mainstream media and big publishers that won’t give new talent a chance. E-publishing is giving rise to great new talent, and I encourage you to look beyond the bookstores for great reads that can surprise and delight you!

2 comments:

I'd have to say I'm like Sherri in my writing plans. I like to get the outline done but let the characters take the story where it is. It makes it so much easier to be a vessel and not fight the story.

Also, there are so many indie authors out there really making the mark. Susan Ee's Angelfall was recently given a big boost, and a boost to the indie field, by being nominated for Cybils. Can't remember if it won, but it was a big win for indie writers in general.

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